hirschausen said...


Procedures are not being followed, the public is being misled.
Environmental shortcuts are trying to be taken.

ahm... like neither state or federal governments have ever done that sort of thing in this country...

I have come to the sad realization that the majority of our fellow Australians don't give a **** about this beautiful sunburned country of ours and it's environmental destruction. This is especially true if the destruction is in the name of corporate greed.

I have sent my email to the ministers office but sadly don't expect much to happen.

as i have never kited or sailed oakagee, and would dearly love to in future years.

i sent the minister the email, certainly can't hurt and maybe just maybe, we will buy some time or reverse the decision.
it certainly didn't take much time or cost me any money!
just do it everyone!

good onya hirchausen.

hirschausen said...

Sure I can go ahead and try and sell, sell sell. This closes very soon, I just happened to have 10 minutes break from teaching and threw it out there as some only need to hear the word "Oakajee" and they know what's going on.

That is what would have happened if you posted this in the windsurf forum: every WA windsurfer knows about it as we've been fighting it for ages. Very disappointed in some of the replies in this thread. I have wavesailed in the area for a long time so have an interest but if they wanted to bvgger up a spot only used by kiters I would be in there fighting for you guys.

Hirschausen, it is not my place really to duplicate your post in case I don't do it how you would like to do it. ......so can you perhaps put another topic in Windsurfing - General maybe titled URGENT help Oakajee and cut n paste just the good stuff from your posts here?

sent

There is a wall of money coming over to WA due there being dirt in the ground........now that is cool.

Resource booms have always been a blessing for this land, but what have we got to show for how we spent our easy dough from the last one in the 50's? Past durations have been 20-30 years, so there is a bit left in this one. Trouble is, we are so much faster at getting dirt out of the ground, and the forces of greed are great, that they may exploit the resource today in 1/2 the time or even less than in the past.

This resource boom is creating the search for new energy sources also; and so the wall of money is also heading for sun, wind and wave power as well as dirt. We have miles and miles of empty where there is plenty of natural power. I would personally like to see our government doing more investment trades with the big mining companies. Now come on, "our dirt" has brought some mining folk billions in no time.

All of us in this lucky country are privileged to participate in what happens with the funds heading our way. I wouldn't mind seeing some investment in natural energy plants as a balance to all that investment in getting our minerals out of the ground asap. Yea, we as a community often help fund private infrastructure and actually receive only a miniscule crumb.

Let us hope that the development of this fine land is balanced towards future generations and that the original owners of the land are full participants in their land's future. Look at the effect previous rapid change has had on the original inhabitants anywhere and it is a sad picture.

One doesn't have to slow down change and progress per se, just find a better balance.

Looks like wind later today...

Sent,
but personly I dont think this should be about kiters or windsurfers, its a bigger issue. profits from this one are not going to Australians, the share majority is in the hands of the Chineese government.

Ray

I cant believe you tools are pulling the "its progress" bullsh1t.

Did you know Noosa was going to be used as a coal mining town, with a whole heap of people backing the "its progress" debate. Thank god people were around with the same mentallity as hirschausen to make a stand. Dont you get it???... we are pulling enough out as it is, why pull it out faster? So we can get rich now and leave our kids without? Don't you have enough of a quality of life as it is? Why do you want more?

Perhaps some of you arrogant victims of corporate propaganda should watch this video...

special recreational places are worth preserving forever.

they can't be recreated!

jobs and infrastructure can be restructured anywhere.

It was my understanding that the location of deep water port in Oakajee was not all support from the Grealdton locals as anothre proposal was to build a large jetty from existing port facilities at Point Moore and may felt this would contribute more to the community than a port 30kms out of town relying on long distance commuters or FIFOs to staff the place and ultimately undermining the validity of Geraldton's own port. Is there truth in this and if so what is it as it may be another argument for EPA review.

The big issue with the original kingstream proposal was the ore price and total chinese control of the facility, and the latest proposal is no different. Australians need to understand that China is not a free market economy rather 'China Inc.' a centrally controlled economy that can in effect operate as one giant corporation. Now I have nothing against China accessing the resources it requires for economic deevelopment any more than WA profiting from Chinas demand for resouces.
The state is going through a unprecedented boom in the view of all economic observers but too much is hinged on china. China is actually stockpiling a huge reserve of iron ore as a mountain at their port of delivery, so far from chewing through the ore to make steel, they will have sufficent reserves to control the world iron ore price, ultimately this would allow manipulation of share prices of BHP Rio Tinto etc and having destroyed that China could move in to by them cheap. This is not idle musings, some very serious economic thinkers have been trying to point this out but are ignored in everyones greed to make profit now so we can buy ever bigger house boats cars etc. No doubt the palms of those in power have been 'greased with silver' in some shape or form, a thing this state has a proven and ignominious history of.

Wake up and think.

Well wake up west australians , do you think China wants to fund billions dfor a port of Oakajee out of teh goodness of their hearts and concern for the ecnomic welfare over are already ludriculously wealthy population [by Chinas standards].

Actually a thread full of "useful information," I feel I am learning a fair bit thanks to the contributions.

I've never kited at Oakajee because I wasn't shown the place and I've been up to Gero many many times. Can't wait to go, seems like a place for me, cat food and all.

Thanks to Slave, Gav and Niall I now know so much more about the place and the issues. Lots of real stuff to think about and actually do.

Passionate and informed arguments here.

My spin on this one is that we shouldnt just be stopping the port building at Oakajee but we should be stopping the whole export of iron ore from this region - temporarily at least.
From the little that I know the ore which now feeds through Pt Gero and the additional planned mining of ore that requires the new port at Oakajee is very low grade compared to that which is being mined and sent out from other more northern regions.
This very short sighted, greed based scramble to extinguish our ore reserves as quickly as possible is ludicrous. Our iron ore is not going to rust away if its left in the ground, the price will not go down over time. As world reserves diminish the price can only go up. All we are doing by getting as much out a possible for todays dollars is keeping even todays price low.

Why not do like the Arabs with their oil. Set the price and let the world decide how much they want to buy at this over-inflated price (which is not necessarily related simply to extraction cost plus a margin).
- production would be down so reserves would last longer.
- dollar return may not vary much, if at all, because a higher price at lower volume cancels out.
- interest rates wouldnt have to be pushed up to counter the ore driven heat in the economy
- the benefits returning to Aust would be far longer lasting.
- the overall amount and value of earnings from a limited supply of resource would be way beyond what we stand to get from the fire sale now in full flame.
- production costs could be dramatically reduced by having to only cater for a limited and prep-planned level of extraction. ie less machinery working, less workers needed on site & in support etc etc.
- if we mine only the highest grade ore sequentially the cost of production is always the lowest possible and with set pricing the profit margins will therefore be greater at every stage.
- as reserves diminish prices go up even further to offset more expensive extraction costs of lower grade ore.

This will never happen of course because sadly money controls the game in Oz completely. Greed is still no. 1 but this is greed gone berserk. Sensible greed would be to ration extraction & production. Who looses - only those very few who benefit from clambering for the short term marginal gain - at a huge long term cost.

AND it would be so so easy. All it would take would be federal legislation setting a production cost limit on extraction. This cost to mining ratio determined by how much ore we want to release over any given period. Active mining licences would only be granted where cost of production relates to a given desirable level of aussie production.
Game over.
Simple as that.
Mining and our long term future secured, controlled & funded by cost & profit not greed and short sighted stupidity.


I have responded Gavin but imo its the little game. But at least it is one which might be temporarily winnable. Good work.

Sent hope its not too late

it's never too late to send the letter in this thread to the government.

public opinion stopped an artificial reef on palm beach on the gold coast and a marina at snapper rocks that threatened to destroy a surfing break.

please keep pressure on the w.a. government.

good link.

Ah the irony.

The individual stances of these all these parties may just blitz each other.

...... spot X may just be saved by too much greed!

Good post Gav